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Christmas potatoes?!!

the tidy gardenerthe tidy gardener Posts: 591
in Fruit & veg
hi guys!
hubby has an allotment and has been busy clearing it.to get him started I bought some Xmas potatoes.charlottes.ive grown these for years in the garden.but never for Xmas.it says you can put them in the ground but if it's a wet autumn you should lift them in October! anyone had any joy with them?! I'm not holding out much hope..

Posts

  • wrighttwrightt Posts: 234
    Yes but not in the ground. I put them in very large plastic pots and leave them until the first frost is forecast when I drag them into my green house as they will not take any frost at all. Then harvest them Christmas eve.
  • gondorgondor Posts: 135
    Didn't want to start a new thread just for one question so thought I'd choose the most recent potato related one.
    My potato shaws keep falling over - is this lack of water? They perked up after a watering can full but now they've fallen over again and it's been raining. Soil is clay.
    Once I harvest this lot, I am going to plant another couple (Charlotte) in the same space. which will be "christmas potatoes". Crop rotation annually, not during the year?
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited August 2021
    @gondor … we need more info. When did you plant them, what variety are they, where and how are you growing them, are they being earthed up?
    photos would help. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • StephenSouthwestStephenSouthwest Posts: 635
    edited August 2021
    Christmas potatoes sound good! I wouldn't know where to start looking for Charlotte seed potatoes at this time of year - any ideas?
    UPDATE - I found some Charlottes available from Jamieson Brothers.  ...now to find that potato growing bag that my sister gave me for Christmas years ago...
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    I wouldn't put potatoes back in the same space so soon. Also note that they won't take any frost so it is unlikely you will get any Christmas crop.
    How long have your potatoes been in? If they are Charlotte,  have been in for at least 12 weeks and have flowered then they are ready to harvest.
  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Christmas potatoes (described as second croppers by the seed merchants) , the seed potatoes have been in cold store. Once planted they will grow like crazy if kept fed and watered. Frost will kill them, so although not suggested by the seed merchants, they are really only viable in large pots in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    Will fleece covering protect them against frost?
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    A slight frost possibly … but I wouldn’t rely on it.  We can get proper freezes in November and Dec some years. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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